The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Recalls 33,000 Child Safety Seats Due to Flawed Restraining Straps

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Instead of issuing an immediate recall, they sought an exception to the safety standards seeking to leave unsafe car seats in use by parents and children

St. Louis, Missouri (PRWEB) January 11, 2014

The Tapella & Eberspacher Law Firm denounces Combi USA’s actions after the popular baby products company recalled 33,000 child safety seats months after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that the seat’s restraining straps could break during a car accident.

According to the NHTSA the recall affects model 8220 Cocorro seats and model 8815 Zeus Turn seats, both manufactured between January 2009 and December 2012. The Combi Zeus 350, model number 8836, is also being recalled and was manufactured between February 2009 and May 2012.

In a consumer notification letter made public on Combiusa.com, the company notes that an embedded plastic button that keeps the buckle tongues from sliding into the recesses of the restraints does not meet the minimum breaking strength. Specifically, it is the webbing within the embedded plastic button that can affect the minimum breaking strength and in turn weaken the performance of the child restraints in the event of a crash.

A spot check was performed in 2012 by the NHTSA and upon the system’s failure the agency contacted Combi. The manufacturers filed a petition with the NHTSA requesting that the seats be excused from the recall, arguing that they had not received any reports of strap failures and that their own testing showed the straps were strong enough. In November 2013 the agency rejected Combi’s arguments.

“Instead of issuing an immediate recall, they sought an exception to the safety standards seeking to leave unsafe car seats in use by parents and children, while they appealed the NHTSA ruling,” said William Tapella of The Tapella & Eberspacher Law Firm.

The recall was announced just days after a new law went into effect that required manufacturers to alert consumers whether or not parents need to use lower anchors, a child-seat attachment system, as the strength of the anchor cannot be guaranteed in some child safety seats.

Combi is providing a free remedy kit and encouraging consumers to use the child restraint system while awaiting the remedy kit which will not available until February 6, 2014.

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